Wichita woman pleads guilty to three business robberies

A 26-year-old woman on Friday admitted in federal court to robbing three Wichita businesses within the past year, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Christina A. Messerschmidt of Wichita pleaded guilty to robberies at the Kwik Shop at 2809 E. Douglas on June 14; Patricia’s at 6143 W. Kellogg on June 13; and the Intrust Bank branch at 1544 S. Webb on Dec. 16, 2016. She is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 13. Attorneys have agreed to recommend to a judge that she spend seven years in federal prison for the crimes, Beall said.

Beall said in the Kwik Shop robbery, Messerschmidt threatened store employees with a knife and stole money from a cash register. At Patricia’s, she threatened to strangle an employee before stealing money.

When she was at the bank, she handed a teller a note that said: “Give me $1,000 or I will shoot you.” Police later arrested her after a standoff at a nearby apartment, Beall said.